


Appeasing Spirits for the Paranormally Challenged

by huntingwabbits, odetostark



Category: No Fandom
Genre: 80s, 80s blessing, Ghosts, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Silly Boys, just give a hug, spider friend
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-07-06 15:53:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15889221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/huntingwabbits/pseuds/huntingwabbits, https://archiveofourown.org/users/odetostark/pseuds/odetostark
Summary: The plan was simple. Anthony would tell his mom he was staying at Jamie’s, and Jamie would tell his mom he was staying at Anthony’s. Then after school they’d bike to the old condemned building on Johnson’s street.Anthony was a bit of a skeptic, and Jamie was quite the opposite, so the decided to put an end to the old myth of a ghost in the abandoned house. They hadn’t quite prepared themselves for making a friend while they were there. Certainly not one they could see through.





	1. A Simple Plan

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! While this is my original story the characters are not. These lovely boys belong to @huntingwabbits check out her account she has two fics of her own.

The plan was simple. All Jamie and Anthony had to do was tell their parents they were staying at the others house. They were good kids, and it was the eighties, neither set of parents had a reason to worry. A rough draft of what they would do when they got to the house had been scratched out. 

Jamie would bring the flashlights, extra batteries, salt, and his blanket. Anthony would bring the snacks, a pillow, and more blankets because whats staying at a spooky, condemned and possibly haunted building without blankets?

At 3:30 they’d head to the house on Johnson’s by bike and then try and catch a ghost. Neither were particularly worried about what was waiting for them in the house. Jamie had the book  _ Appeasing Spirits for the Paranormally Challenged _ that he found in his attic; if there was ever a moment he was unsure the book was sure to give him any answer he would need. Anthony on the other hand had himself, and the knowledge that ghosts probably weren’t real. He enjoyed going on the adventures with Jamie to try and find anything peculiar, but at that moment, his biggest fear was the possibility of the house collapsing. 

3:00 hit and both boys looked like they were going to burst. Anthony’s fingers drummed muted triplets on his thigh, while Jamie was the source of a small earthquake because of his bouncing leg.

“Truly Jamie,”Their teacher began, “I believe some of us are going to have whiplash from the incessant shaking. A sick day would be nice, but I haven’t the time.” 

Jamie felt his cheeks heat up as several heads turned toward him with poorly stifled giggles. “Y-yes sir. Sorry, just a bit eager for the weekend.”

“Hm, well there is still thirty minutes of your life dedicated to my teachings, you can manage that no?” Normally Jamie hated when teachers called him out for things he couldn’t help, but he knew that Mr. Agone was just giving him a hard time. 

“‘Suppose I can today sir.”

The teacher responded with a tight nod, amusement lighting his eyes. “Now, back to the concept of derivatives.”

His ramblings managed to fall back into the softened world as Jamie receded into his mind thinking through the night ahead of him.  
Anthony in the meantime tore out a sheet of paper and folded it to make it smaller and less noticeable. Quickly, in a messy scrawl, he wrote Jamie a note. ‘ _You remember the flashlights?’_  
Watching for a moment when the teacher turned back to the board, Anthony slipped the paper to Jamie. He read it hurriedly, made a face, then gently reached for his bag and opened it enough to show the two flashlights. He even made the effort to point out the extra batteries beside them.

Jamie fished out a pen and wrote a quick response. ‘ _Offended you had to ask. Think we’ll actually get away with this?’_  
Anthony squinted down at the note. He was beyond thankful that out of the two of them it was Jamie with the neat handwriting, but it was still difficult to read with his dyslexia. Though, something about Jamie’s confident lines kept the letters from wandering too far off the page. He finally shrugged in response, and then realized Jamie hadn’t been paying attention. ‘ _Don’t see why not.’_  
He nodded slowly and calculated, not bothering to write a response. Anthony watched his friend for a moment, worried Jamie was less on board with the plan than he was letting on.  
Those last thirty minutes seemed to drag along at the pace of someone else’s time. Anthony eyed the clock imagining taking the minute hand and pushing it forward to make time go by faster. Finally the dismissal bell rang, and the two shot out of class so distracted by their excitement, they failed to notice the thin eyes watching the whole way.

Crouching down to unlock their bikes Anthony began running through his mental checklist “You told your mom you were staying at my place right?”

Jamie rolled his eyes with the ease of practice from answering this question many times before. “Yes, like I told you yesterday and the day before.”  
Holding his hands in mock defense Anthony raised a brow at Jamie’s curt response. “Alright, just making sure. My pops is already pissed about my grade in Mrs. Smith’s class, so I don’t need the combined effort of this too. I have the blankets and snacks.”  
“Good, I already showed you the two flashlights, batteries, I also brought my book-“  
Anthony groaned, being a skeptic he found the quests, as the boys liked to call them, a little silly, but the book was were he drew the line. It was old, and looked like it had been written by someone who didn’t feel like actually writing down words and instead just scribbled lines on the page and called it a day.

“Not that stupid book, it’s impossible to read it, and it’s just someone thinking their clever when they aren’t.”  
“To be fair to the author, you can’t read very many books.” Jamie countered.  
There was a moment of silence where Anthony was looking for a proper response. “Whatever, did you bring the radio thing? We can use it to finally prove there’s no ghost in that house, or anywhere for that matter.” He took a flashlight out of Jamie’s hand, and put it in the side pocket of his backpack.  
“If it doesn’t pick up any spirits voices that doesn’t mean ghosts don’t exist, just that it doesn’t work.” He remarked, climbing onto his bike and knocking up the kickstand. “Or that maybe there just aren’t any ghosts in _this_ house.”  
“Uh-huh sure. On to a more important topic: what’s in the one and only fanny pack to protect us all.”  
“Well I have your inhaler-“ Anthony began to complain, saying something about not having had an asthma attack in months, but Jamie seemed unable to hear him as he just continued on. “Chapstick, an extra watch in case something happens to mine. I really don’t want to be late going home.” He frowned trying to remember what else he’d scavenged. “I think a pocket knife, salt, sage, and some other stuff that the book said might come in handy.”  
“No one can say you’re not prepared.”

“That’s my thing, I’m always prepared!”

“Yeah, alright Mr. Preparedman.” The boys laughed at the absurdity of the name; then yet another silence ensued.

Anthony remembered how nervous and uncertain his friend had seemed, and worried again that maybe he wasn’t all that excited for the trip.

“What?” The other boy asked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”  
He paused for a moment, unaware he’d been looking in any particular way. “Well, you’re okay with this right?” Anthony finally said. “ I don’t want you to feel forced into it or anything.”  
Jamie made a face. “What? Why would I be here if I didn’t want to?”  
“I-I dunno! I just wanted to make sure you wanted to do this and that I wasn’t putting you out.”  
“Trust me dude, I’ll do anything to rub it in your face that ghosts are real. Anyone else had suggested checking out the old Johnson house I would’ve called them crazy, but we both already know you are. Plus going to this creepy house means I can look for ghosts.” Suddenly his face lit up. “We can be called the ghoul-friends!”  
“Ghoul-friends?” Anthony repeated with a raised brow.

Jamie suddenly looked very out of place again. “Uh yeah, you know like best friends, but with ghouls, because we’re hunting ghosts.” Jamie could only just make out the funny look on Anthony’s face from his peripheral. “I dunno, just a joke name y’know.”

Anthony barked out a laugh, “Nah man, it’s sick. I kinda love it.”

Ahead the infamous Johnson building was finally visible. It was far from anything out of a horror story, only having been abandoned for roughly fifteen years, it wasn’t in the  _ worst _ shape they’d ever seen. Some windows had been bashed in, and there certainly was at one point a front door, but if they pretended hard enough, it was just a house under renovation.

As they neared the house Anthony and Jamie hopped off their bikes and made their way around the building to find a place to stow them.   
Anthony huffed in frustration. “Listen dude I don’t want my shit stolen so should we just hide them inside?”  
Jamie cast a final glance around what he could tentatively call a back porch. “Guess so, this place has some weird vibes man.”

Anthony couldn’t help but note the way Jamie’s shoulders were tensed, and eyes refused to stay locked on one subject. “Hey, Jamie, it’s gonna be fine. We can take on anything, and worse case scenario I have to beat someone’s ass.” He did a karate pose to emphasize the statement.  
Jamie laughed at the sight in front of him. “You’d be heaving before the guy threw his first punch.”  
“You never know! Maybe he has asthma too.” And upon seeing Jamie’s face decided he probably wouldn’t be able to take someone in a fight. 

Grabbing their bikes, they awkwardly made it up the stairs and into the building. The inside looked worse than the outside. Leaf litter and trash covered the floor, and it was clear people had tried using the home as shelter on cold nights. The wall paper was peeling around the corners of the room, and they both mused about what the smell might be.  
“Should we set up sleeping arrangements or scout the building first?” Jamie asked looking around the room nervously.

“I guess look around, but what flo-“ Anthony was promptly cut off by a loud thud from above. The boys looked at each other with wide eyes and then slowly towards the ceiling. “I guess, maybe we start there?”  
Jamie’s fingers itched for his Walkman. He wanted to just slap on headphones and pretend like he hadn’t heard anything, but they forged ahead.  
Something about the staircase made the two just stand and stare for a moment. “We can still go home.” Anthony suggested. “Just go to my place and tell my mom that yours wasn’t feeling well or something.” He wasn’t going to admit it, but Anthony was hoping beyond hope Jamie would say yes.  
instead he shook his head, and set his nerves straight. “No, we’re here, we have to do it. It’s an old house; I’m sure it was just something settling.”  
Seeing the certainty on his friends face, Anthony decidedly puffed out a breath and started up the stairs. Each step screeched in protest, but held his weight. Jamie followed close behind.  
The second floor was bigger than either expected. Five doors hid unknowable secrets from them, and the two boys were uncertain where to start.

“Alright, you take those two,” Anthony feigned confidence as he spoke, “and I’ll take these. The last one we can take together,”

Jamie nodded, and without giving himself time to talk himself out of it, he headed to the first room. It didn’t stray far from what he had expected. There was a bed that had clearly not been touched in years, and a thin layer of dust had accumulated across all surfaces. There were shelves along the back wall, and a few books were scattered among them. With nothing particularly catching his attention Jamie continued to the next room.

It was a small, unremarkable bathroom, with grime lining the sink, and a smell wafting from an unknown source. It had a standing shower, and upon pulling back the curtain the source of the smell was identified as mildew.

“Alright Anthony, there’s nothing that interesting.” His friend poked out his head from the adjacent room

“Nothing?” He seemed a little disappointed.

“I mean, a little unsettling, though nothing I wasn’t expecting” Jamie fished out Anthony’s inhaler and held it out. “But your asthma is gonna have a field day there’s so much dust.”

He waved him off “I’ll be fine, plus this room seemed fine. I mean, it’s still dusty, but I only sneezed like five times.” He pointed to the furthest room. 

Knowing better than to argue Jamie shoved the inhaler back into his pack. “We can check out the last room after we set stuff up, I can’t imagine it’s much different from the others.”

Anthony nodded and turned back to the room. “So what does that book say we do first?”

“I’m glad you asked!” But before Jamie could even begin looking for his book, another crash, much louder than before halted his thoughts.

Without realizing, both boys reached for the other. With hammering hearts and racing thoughts, their intertwined fingers went unnoticed. After a moment of calm it came to Anthony’s attention that there was an extra pressure. He looked down and saw Jamie’s hand in his.  
Letting go as if they had been electrocuted, both took a large step back. Jamie reminded himself to say a thank you to the big guy for the dim lighting because his checks were burning hotter than Hades fire.  
Anthony cleared his throat. “The - uh - room should work fine. The sound didn’t seem to come from that direction, and it’s got a huge bed so we’ll have plenty of room. Just need to strip the sheets and put our stuff down.” He moved to the room walking a bit faster than a normal pace, anxious to move out of the moment.  
Jamie nodded mutely. Too many thoughts were racing by for him to even imagine stringing a sentence together. He waited to follow trying to have one cohesive thought, but he was frozen to the spot. 

_ He knows. _ Was all he could think, and it was like his heart was stuck in his throat.

When Anthony go to the door he opened it and stiffened. Jamie tried to steel himself, to protect himself from the mean words that were going to be thrown at him. The names he was going to be called, by none other than his best friend.

What happened instead was infinitely more terrifying. Anthony turned around with a pale face and wide eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but Jamie could only see his friend being the words, as something had grabbed Anthony from behind and dragged him into the room. The door slammed shut, and the Jamie was alone in the hallway.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I’m late, I’m going to try and post a chapter every Monday, but,,,uh,,,,well we’ll see if that happens. Enjoy!

Elliot had lived in the house for what he thought had been a very long time.He vaguely remembered waking up one day there, but if you were to ask him when that was he couldn’t even bother guessing. Time passed strangely for him, being dead and all. That was something else that bothered him. He couldn’t remember how he died. All that was there was a strange feeling of cold washing over him, and that was it.  
Sometimes Elliot would spend hours musing what that feeling may be. Whether it was drowning, or freezing to death, or maybe that was just simply what you felt when you died. He just didn’t know.  
This is what he knew for sure: he had a red and white shirt that had a one on it, and it was pretty ripped up. He also had a pair of jeans practically ripped to shreds, and socks that had a hole in them where his big toe was. The only other thing he could be sure was that Rascal was his best friend and that there had never been anyone else. That was until today when two strange boys interrupted his game of hide and seek with Rascal.  
It was a pretty unfair game considering how small Rascal was. Being merely a common house spider the little bugger could get into some pretty tight spots. This never deterred Elliot though. There was very short list that covered all you could do in his house, and hide and seek was the majority of it.  
Elliot had already knocked over a couple of boxes in his attic in search of his friend. After the second time he decided Rascal wasn’t up there and he headed to a new floor.  
It was on the second landing that he the heard voices. At first he dismissed them as the mindless ramblings of other restless spirits in the area, but he quickly realized they had clear speech.  
“Just need to strip the sheets and put our stuff down.”  
Elliot heard footsteps approaching the room he was in and had no idea what to do. Before he knew it the door was open and a boy was standing there staring him dead in the eye. Well the stranger only saw his hair hanging low across his eyes, but the effect is still the same.  
The other kid looked remarkably normal. Elliot guessed they were the same height, he had slightly messy brown hair, a small gap in his front teeth, and a small grey line across his eyebrow. His face was remarkably pale and he slowly turned around to speak to someone in the hallway.  
In such a state of shock and confusion Elliot rushed forward and grabbed the stranger by both shoulders and hauled him back into the room. He opened his mouth to speak, but only static came out. He gritted pointed teeth in frustration.  
Below him scar kid was thrashing and calling out for someone named Jamie. At the door now stood a new face. This one was very interesting to look at. His skin was patterned not unlike a cow, but seemingly more pleasant. His hair mimicked the pattern being both a dark brown and white. He had a strange small pouch wrapped around his middle, which he was currently shifting through obviously looking for something.  
Elliot looked back and forth between the boys, and was struck with realization of just how terrifying it must be for them. He launched himself from his first target and hovered near the ceiling for an easy escape.  
The first boy scrambled off the bed towards the second while a strange wheezing sound emitted from him. The one Elliot presumed to be Jamie had deep creases in his brow as he frowned searching now in his pack.  
Finally he withdrew a small blue object which he shook before handing over. Taking in gasping breaths the other seemed to finally calm. For a moment Elliot thought they had forgotten him, but then their eyes suddenly raised to him, and they locked in a staring contest.  
He slowly lowered to the floor, but stayed flush against the other wall.  
“Anthony!” Said the first one. “M-my names...” he gulped down a breath and fought to steady himself. “My name is Anthony.”  
Elliot nodded to signal his understanding. Then through very much effort and garbled words he lifted his hand and pointed at Jamie. “J-Ja-Jamie, right?” The one he gesture towards nodded as if it was the most calculated movement of his life.  
Elliot felt something drop down onto his head and he immediately felt better having his buddy back.  
With the majority of shock wearing off the gravity of the situation began to sink in for them all. “Holy shit, and I mean the fucking holiest of shits.” Anthony said with a strange gleam of awe in his eye. “Ghosts are fucking real.”  
“I told you so.” Jamie’s face was split into a wide beaming smile. “Dude I totally told you so.” He hopped up and hurried towards Elliot. “I have so many questions! But I guess we need to figure out a way to help you communicate first huh?” He kneeled down and began rummaging through his bag muttering something about wishing “it” was smaller so he could just put it into his fanny pack.  
Elliot had drawn back. His arms pulled stiff at his side, and knees pulled up slightly so he was hovering just above the bed. Rascal scuttle down onto his shoulder and he scooped him up holding his itsy-bitsy friend closely.  
Jamie let out a quiet “Ah-hah!” And held up a strange old looking book triumphantly. Hurriedly he flipped through its pages.  
Anthony crept forward slowly. His face was much paler in comparison and sweat slicked back his hair. Never once did his eyes move from Elliot. It was a little unnerving, and imagine the feat that is: unnerving a ghost.  
“Wait. Your voice kinda sounded garbled, right?” Jamie stated a bit too simply. The second he said it the room dropped ten degrees.  
“Hey, Jamie, lets not piss off our new spirit friend shall we?” Anthony’s voice was surprisingly steady for someone who looked like they were about to faint.  
Elliot shook his head. “He’s c-c-correct.”  
Jamie snapped. “Like static! I got it. Anthony find the bit about radio interference and stuff in the book while I try to get the radio together.” He tossed the book and Anthony fumbled to catch it.  
The ghoulish boy hovered over the other two with incredible interest. Jamie pulled out something Elliot finally recognized: a radio set. Though he was still perplexed by how it could help.  
“Try just a plain base channel.” Anthony said as he squinted at the book in his lap. “I think this says that spirits should just be able to channel their energy through it and change it to their will.” He rubbed his temples. “I could be completely wrong though this thing is killer on my eyes.”  
“No that sounds familiar.” Jamie chewed lightly on the inside of his thumb. After making a few last adjustments he stepped back. “Well, here goes. Try to say something.”  
Elliot looked from the two sitting in front of him to the radio below him. He fought to keep his hopes low. No reason to expect this to work. Might as well try though. He gave Rascal a little smile and placed him back in his hair. Then he focused harder than he could ever remember on just one thought. Just one phrase. He directed it to the radio. For a moment he thought he’d opened his mouth as a faint sound of static could be heard, but he felt his lips pressed tightly together.  
Suddenly the energy began flow a little easier, as if it was more under his control. He searched the radio waves for sounds that mimicked his thoughts. Finally he found connections.  
“My...name is...Elliot.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly this is my favorite chapter so far!  
> It was really fun and I just love these characters so so so much. Feel free to comment below anything really. Constructive criticism, grammar, if you enjoyed it, if you didn’t. Let me know! See ya next Monday or on Instagram @spacedouttravels

“Well,” Jamie started. “It’s not your voice, but we can understand you better.”  
Elliot felt the corners of his mouth tilt up in a smile. He focused again on the radio. “You...had...questions.”  
Jamie and Anthony managed a whole conversation with just one look. In impressive unison they both stood, and began walking towards the door. “We’ll be right back we have to plan this out first.” Jamie called over his shoulder. It was hard not to turn and stare at Elliot, but he didn’t want to be rude.  
Once they finally reached the exit they quietly shut the door, and hurried to a room at the other end of the hall. Anthony launched himself on the bed, who’s mattress springs yelled out in surprise. He wondered how long it had been since the last person sat there.   
Jamie stood in a wide stance with arms crossed and chewing on his bottom lip. “I mean what do we even say!” His brows were drawn close together in concentration. “Do we ask how he died? Do we ask why he’s still here? Is that rude? What’s the protocol? The book does not cover chill spirits like that dude.”  
Anthony’s head popped up with an incredulous expression. “Hey, he may be calm right now, but don’t forget he threw me on the bed ‘n held me down!” He began to sweat just thinking about it, and his belly churned in fear.  
Jamie merely waved him off. “See it from his side. We broke into his house and were tromping all around.”  
“Whatever, I guess that should be our first question: is there anything off limits? We want to know how to not piss off the spirit we just met.”   
“Suppose he remembers anything?” Jamie asked as he fished out his notebook.  
“Who knows. We don’t how long he’s been here. I mean his clothes looked pretty normal, ignoring how ripped they are.” Anthony mused.  
“We could ask his favorite TV shows and movies.” Jamie suggested.  
“Well then we have to know his favorite comic. They’ve been around ages and if he doesn’t give a good answer we just fucking book it.” He looked around him. “Worse case, just tuck and roll out the window okay?”  
Jamie couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright, what else? Should we do basics? Like favorite colors?”  
“Dude he’s a ghost!”  
“So? Means he was human at some point. If he likes comics then he probably has a favorite color.” Suddenly Jamie’s face lit up. “I’ve just had an idea.”  
“Thought about as much, lay it on me brother!” Anthony hopped off the bed, a new found energy coursing through him.  
“What if we wrote our own book? The old dudes who wrote this one only got the information from fighting ghosts, but we can talk to one. We can ask him ourselves! Obviously we will skip over the awkward questions of banishment and stuff, but,” He grabbed Anthony by the shoulders. “this basically makes us a nicer version of the Ghostbusters! Do get how absolutely amazing this is?”  
Anthony could have sworn in that moment Jamie’s eyes held the whole goddamn galaxy in them. They shone with such excitement he knew he would follow his friend wherever he led.  
“I think I’m getting it, yeah.” Anthony finally said.  
“We start with a chapter on how to communicate properly.” Jamie began to pace chewing on the inside of his cheek as he thought. “Then maybe how to set up communications if the ghost is unable to speak clearly vocally!”  
“Are we gonna bother asking about banishment and stuff?”  
Jamie shook his head. “No I feel like one that could go very poorly, and two he wouldn’t know the answers anyway.”  
“Yeah, fair enough.” Anthony had started poking around the room.“I wish there was something here that could tell us about him. An old book, or spare clothes. Anything.”  
“That’s what the questions are for. We’ll get stuff from him, we don’t want it to look like we don’t trust him.”  
“Fine fine, let’s write everything down then.” Sitting across from Jamie on the bed, Anthony made himself comfortable and ready to help the other shift through his thoughts.  
-  
After a thirty minute planning period they headed back to the room. Elliot was right where they left him, just floating slightly above the bed, but he seemed to be trying to talk to something through the radio.  
“Now it’s easier...to talk...Rascal! I can...tell you...stories.” It was startling to know the voices on the radio were being manipulated by the ghoul above them.  
“Hey Elliot! We figured out what to ask you, are you up for it?” Jamie tried to come off as calmly as possible. In reality his heart was jackrabbiting to a beat faster than any of his favorite bands could wish to reach.  
“I guess, it’s....been a long...time.”  
Anthony cleared his throat in an attempt to steady his voice. “So we thought we should start with a basis of what’s off limits. We seriously don’t want to upset you on accident.”  
Elliot shrugged and opened his mouth to respond, but quickly shut it and turned to the radio. “I don’t...remember much...but...you can ask...whatever.”  
This response elicited another beaming smile from Jamie. “Are you sure?” His new friend nodded. “Okay, well you can ask us anything you want to know too, and we’ll start with an easy one! Can you see even though your hair covers you eyes? Do you need to see?”  
Elliot considered the question first. He wasn’t sure whether he wanted to just give them a short answer or actually show them. He decided that he would show them, and depending on their response he could determine the way he answered their future questions.  
“I can see,...but it’s....difficult to explain why... I cover them.” He nervously smoothed the hair in front of his eyes. “They are slightly...startling.”  
“Dude, hope this doesn’t offend you because the fact is cool as fuck, but you’re a ghost. I don’t think anything can get crazier than that.” Anthony said a bit too plainly.  
Jamie cast a nervous glance to the specter worried that his friends bluntness might have come across as rude, but Elliot nodded and timidly raised his hair to reveal his eyes.  
Neither had known what to expect. All the ideas they had about ghosts came from films like Ghostbusters and the Shining. In both films, other than a few characters, most of those from beyond just looked like humans that were slightly transparent. Everything was still intact. Just like Elliot, they all had arms and legs and faces with mouths and noses and eyes, but unlike the characters from those movies Elliot’s eyes looked just a shade different.  
For starters they weren’t there. No eye sockets could be located, but instead the boys were painfully aware of two void like holes in the same location. They seemed to draw the light in the room. Whether it was from the setting sun outside or from Anthony and Jamie themselves it didn’t seem to matter. Everything just felt dimmer.  
Elliot quickly let his hair fall back down. “Sorry...I know it’s...a lot to...take in”  
Silence hang heavy in the air for a moment. Then the two friends looked at each other and finally back to Elliot.  
“I think I speak for us both when I say,” Anthony of course took a dramatic pause. “That was the coolest shit we’ve ever seen.”  
Their ghostly host offered a small smile. “That was...much nicer...than...expected.”  
Anthony’s eyes were wide with wonder. “None of the other questions seem half as interesting now.”  
“This just means they could have way cooler answers than we prepared for!” Jamie pushed Anthony towards the bed and hopped up himself. “Better get comfortable, I think we’re going to be here a while.”  
Elliot watched the two friends carefully set up their blankets, pillows, and array of what he assumed to be snacks. He was impressed by the ease of which they moved. It was almost as if they were two perfect fitting puzzle pieces, and without really knowing it the boys felt it too.  
While he felt the sharp sting of jealousy, there was also another strange energy around Elliot. Suddenly he realized that for the first time he could remember he was excited.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October 1!! Happy part one of Halloween. Hope you enjoy this chapter, it sets up a little bit more of the exact plot.  
> Let me know what you think, and comment below. :)

The questions asked were easy enough. Some needed suggestions and reminders for Elliot to remember their precise answers, but he did his best.  
“Okay, this could be a two parter depending on how you answer.” Jamie cast a sidelong glance at Anthony with a mischievous gleam in his eye, as he spoke. “Not to put any pressure, but it’s the most important question we’ll ask.”  
Anthony nodded with the utmost seriousness. “Yes, yes, we may have to flee screaming if it’s not a good answer.”  
Elliot was extremely perplexed by this current exchange. His company surely looked very serious, and sounded like it as well, but there was something in the air that suggested otherwise. He couldn’t quite determine how he was supposed to respond so he didn’t and waited for the question instead.  
“Have you, sir Elliot of this condemned building, ever read a comic?” They both looked at him expectantly.  
Something felt familiar about the word. It elicited the same high energy as when he was first preparing for questions. Excitement.  
Elliot let the word tumble about his mind, hoping it would draw something out. Though he was not surprised when nothing jumped out. Eventually he gave up on searching for memories and nodded. “Yes...I believe I did...before.”  
Anthony leaned forward in anticipation. “What kinds? Superheroes? Monsters? Funnies? Archie? We don’t know when you lived so I can’t ask specifically, but does any of that sound familiar?” The teen was so excited he was about to simply slip off the bed.  
“Whoa, dude give him some breathing room.” Jamie flinched slightly at his poor wording. “Sorry, I forgot.”  
The friendly spirit just waved away the apology. “I know you...meant nothing...by it.” He offered an impressively bright smile for one of the dead. “His suggestions...reminded me of...something...superheroes?”  
Anthony and Jamie nodded emphatically. “I’ll leave this to you Tony Stark.” Jamie said leaning back.  
Anthony cleared his throat as if he were about to give a lecture. Elliot was sure he’d just brought on a very long conversation he wasn’t ready for.  
“Thank you JARVIS. Now, what type of hero’s do you remember? We have two different branches they could be from, either DC or Marvel. One is certainly much better, but I’ll avoid bias for now.” Jamie rolled his eyes like it was a practiced bit.  
“Give him ten minutes, at most, and you’ll know exactly which side he roots for.”  
“You’re just sore you like the worse side, but it’s okay because one day I’ll lead you into the light.” Anthony retorted. “Anyways. So was it like a really cool person who can fly, and shoot lasers, and has x-ray vision, and is practically invincible?”  
Elliot heard Jamie snort, but was to busy trying to remember to understand what was funny. After a few moments he shook his head. “Not very...familiar...keep describing.”  
He noted the way Anthony’s face seemed to drop slightly. “Alright, well I was talking about Superman. He’s from DC and is really cool so we’ll tell you about him later. What about someone who’s really fast, or a man made of metal, or a cool, but also nerdy kid who might remind you of a spider?”  
Something about a man of metal made Elliot’s heart feel light. “Metal...wasn’t it...iron?”  
Jamie and Anthony let out a celebratory shout. “Yes! Exactly! Iron Man, also know as Tony Stark. Billionaire genius!” Jamie yelled out.  
“I think...Iron...Man...was very important...to me.” Elliot was worried his new friend was going to explode as Jamie was almost hopping around the bed in excitement.  
Anthony sighed, “This means I have to convert two of you now. DC is so much better.” Elliot wasn’t sure if he should mention the fact he still didn’t remember much about the comics themselves, that he only knew the character had great significance in his life.  
“Okay,” Jamie said after a deep breath, “we’ve asked the fun questions. Can we ask you something personal?”  
Elliot mindlessly floated still listening, but entertaining himself with his small bug friend as well. “I told you...nothing is...off limits”  
“I just wanted to make sure. Take things slow, this is crazy for us, I can’t imagine what it’s like for you.” The ghoul shrugged, but said nothing. Jamie took it as his cue to continue. “Do you, uh,” he looked to Anthony for comfort, and his friend gently squeezed his shoulder with a small nod. “Do you know how you died?”  
“I think...it was in...this house.” Elliot tucked Rascal back in his hair and went back towards the bed. “But...I’m not...even sure...about that. I don’t know how...much...time has passed.”  
Jamie nodded solemnly. “Have you tried to figure it out? Do you even want to?”  
“Never considered it.” He took a moment and tried to think about his first day in the home, but he just couldn’t remember. Everything was a blur.  
“Wait, people used to live here, maybe you did too.” Anthony stood up. “Plus we heard you knocking stuff around earlier.”  
“Sorry...I didn’t know...you were here. I was playing...hide and seek.” Anthony and Jamie made it very clear that it was okay.   
“But wait, who were you playing with? Are there other spirits here?” Anthony looked around nervously as he asked.  
Elliot shook his head, “No, no, no...well...there are ones...nearby, but… they...aren’t connected...to the real....world.” Jamie nodded and quickly jotted the fact down so he knew to ask more about it. “I was playing with...Rascal.” The spirit continued grabbing the small friend from his hair again.  
“The spider?” Confusion was plain on both the boys face. Jamie leaned closer as he spoke to Elliot. “How do you play with a spider? He’s so small.”  
“He can’t...go through...walls...like me so...when I leave…one room he....stays and I have to...find him!.” Rascal was now scuttling all around. He hurried to the end of Elliot’s hand, and Anthony could have sworn he saw the arachnid wave.  
“That’s cool.” Jamie said after careful consideration.  
“He’s the only one...I have...known...while living here.” Rascal made his way back to the top of his friend head and disappeared into the mop of hair.  
Anthony and Jamie both wondered what else could be hiding there, but decided to not pursue the thought. Instead Jamie hopped off the bed looking like he could take on the world.  
“Okay, now that we’re done with introductions, at least I’m assuming so?” He looked to Elliot waiting for him to show them someone else, but the spector just shook his head. “Then I say we go upstairs and start looking through the boxes and see if we can find anything about you. There has to be something.”  
“I think there...might be something.” Elliot frowned thinking. It was hard for him to put anything together, he just didn’t know. He didn’t even know what questions to ask so he might learn.  
Anthony rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “Alright let’s go, this is going to be one for the history books dudes. I mean imagine when we get to tell our kids Jamesey!”  
Jamie felt his hands get clammy. “Wh-what?”  
“When we’re older, living next door to each other and our kids will be bestfriends of course, they just don’t have a choice, and we’ll regale of the times we hung out with a ghost.” Anthony snapped. “Hey wait! They’ll be able to meet you Elliot, s’not like you’re going anywhere!”  
Anthony’s excitement was a bit contagious. Elliot hovered over them and could feel the electricity becoming pliable around him. His smile was reminiscent of a snarl, but the sentiment was clear.  
To distract himself from the rapidly forming daydream Jamie started collecting a few things to take upstairs with them. “Elliot can you show us how to get in the attic?”  
“Of course!” He responded and just launched himself into the ceiling.  
Anthony and Jamie watched the spot where he went through and waited for him to come back laughing for the joke, but after waiting a few moments they assumed he didn’t realize they couldn’t go that way.  
Anthony grabbed the radio as Jamie went to look for the hatch to let them in. Luckily for them it was just in the next room over, and while it screeched in protest the hatch opened easily enough.  
Elliot’s head suddenly popped in the space, and the radio light came on. “I forgot you...can not come…through walls...sorry!”  
Jamie laughed lightly. “S’alright. Let just start looking around.” The boys headed up the ladder and were slightly overwhelmed by what they saw.  
Boxes lined the wall and what seemed to be clothes on hanging racks were taking up the rest of the room. Hundreds of papers and pictures littered the floor from where Elliot had knocked over the containers. Jamie lifted himself into the attic and started to look around. Suddenly something caught his eye, and he headed over to one particular set of pictures that had an all too familiar face staring at him.  
“Anthony?” His voice was hoarse. Almost completely inaudible. “H-hey Anthony!” Jamie said a bit louder.  
Both Elliot and Anthony looked over to see their friend visibly shaking. Anthony rushed over.  
“Hey dude, you alright what’s going on?” But Jamie said nothing. He merely shoved the picture he was holding towards Anthony, and sat down with his head in his hands.  
Elliot slowly floated over, glancing from boy to boy. Anthony now stood frozen with a very perplexed expression; just staring at the picture. The ghoul gazed over his shoulder to see if he noted anything himself.  
It took him a moment to notice anything. He ran his eyes, or lack thereof, over it several times and then it hit him.  
It was him. Another Elliot was staring at him, but alive and happier. There were some other kids with him too. Two girls, both horribly familiar but just out of reach, and another boy that made his stomach churn. He looked a little older than the rest of them, a little wilder.  
“That woman,” Jamie said suddenly shocking Elliot out of his thoughts. “The one to your right.” Elliot directed his attention to the face. It was soft and kind, and the more he studied it the more it brought back the faintest of memories. “She’s my mother.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed. You can contact me at @spacechub on Instagram and the boys creator is on Instagram at @doodle.bug


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